Whoo, yet another blog to take care of. I've got too many now.
I was in New York City the last few days on vacation and while there, I visited Nintendo World. As some of you may know, that store used to be the only Pokémon Center store outside of Japan. I assume Nintendo in general is more profitable than a stand-alone Pokémon store, but since I did have the chance to visit the Pokémon Center while it was still open, back in 2002 or 2003, the Nintendo World Store was a major disappointment. :(
First of all, I apologize for not having any pictures of the store itself. My camera stopped working last month and my mom didn't bring hers outside that day. I didn't have a chance to go back with it another day to take photos, so a simple description will have to do. I'm sure you can find other photos of the store itself if you Google it. When you walk in, the DS has taken over the main floor. There's a ring of DS systems in the middle, each with a different game inserted for you to try out. And lining the walls are... a TON of DS games. All full price, too, so I wasn't at all interested.
In the rear of the first floor were the remains of the Pokémon Center, really. To the left were two screens showing trailers for both Battle Revolution (or was it just Diamond/Pearl? I forget) and Ranch. Then there was a large shelf with Pokédolls. I'd been looking foward to getting a Pokédoll or two but they had a TON of Grimer, a few Glameow, some Magby, lots of Igglybuff, and lots of Bonsly. I don't even like any of those so I didn't bother. ;_; In the centre they had two racks back-and-front with TOMY figures. Most were legendaries, which I've never had too much of an interest in, but they had a fair few Eeveelutions and they had quite a few Cherrim! I don't have the Cherrim TOMY figure yet so I was pretty happy to find it. Anyway. Behind the racks were three LCD TVs showing a movie (the Lucario movie, to be exact) and next to them were shelves of DS games and DVDs. I have all the Pokémon games they were selling and the DVDs were cheaper at ToysRUs so I didn't get any of those. On the rest of the back wall and along the side, they had trading figures, trading cards, and some weird things. I was very tempted to get one of the wall sticks (they had Dialga, Palkia, and Pikachu) but they were too expensive. Finally, under that were a bunch of train sets. Pichu Brothers train sets. Since Pichu is the other Pokémon I collect... well... I bought one. Haha, when my mom came back to pick my brother and I up, she gave me one of those "oh god why do you have your own money" looks. :D
If you go up the stairs (or are lazy and take the elevator :P) you get to the predominantly Wii floor. To your left are a ton of Wii stations set up. Most of them were set up for Brawl, some set up for the new Mario baseball game, and one for Guitar Hero. Lining the walls on this side were Wii games (also overpriced :P) and then the cashiers. There was a little nook area with Nintendo plushies, accessories, etc. Behind that in the centre was a display of Nintendo's history. Google this and you should get pictures. I particularly liked the case with the DSes in it because it showed some of the special editions. They had the Subarashiki Kono Sekai DS (TWEWY!) and the yellow Pikachu edition DS, as well as the new Pikachu DS that's coming out in Japan. I wish they were for sale. XD Finally, there was the t-shirt and apparel section. Absolutely NOTHING interested me. :( My first console was a Gameboy Color so I'd just feel guilty wearing the retro shirts they had with NES designs and whatnot. Then the more modern shirts were all either Princess Peach (...not my favourite Nintendo character :|) or Super Mario Galaxy, which I didn't enjoy. Everything else just didn't look nice. So I didn't get anything from this section despite rather wanting to.
Anyway, so that was the Nintendo store. I don't remember a ton of details from when it was still the Pokémon center but I do remember two whole WALLS of plush toys on the upper floor and the entire bottom floor being filled with different kinds of figures. :( They had games and DVDs and whatnot, yeah, but most of their products consisted of items you couldn't find anywhere else. At Nintendo World? Almost everything there I could find in stores somewhere else. You could buy any game, sure, but I could get them cheaper somewhere else. The apparel was original, I suppose, but nothing I wanted to spend money on. If you're in New York City, I'd suggest heading over to the store just to say you've been there but if you're going there for Pokémon stuff, I'd suggest just going to another store to get it cheaper or hitting up eBay.
Has anyone else been to the Nintendo World store? Did you like it? Dislike it? I'd also be curious if anyone had the chance to go to the Pokémon Center before it was replaced. Or, even better, if anyone has been to a Pokémon Center in Japan. :) One of the main reasons I want to go to Japan, and I'm not even kidding, is to hit up a Pokémon Center. I'd probably set aside a few hundred dollars just for that store alone!
I was in New York City the last few days on vacation and while there, I visited Nintendo World. As some of you may know, that store used to be the only Pokémon Center store outside of Japan. I assume Nintendo in general is more profitable than a stand-alone Pokémon store, but since I did have the chance to visit the Pokémon Center while it was still open, back in 2002 or 2003, the Nintendo World Store was a major disappointment. :(
First of all, I apologize for not having any pictures of the store itself. My camera stopped working last month and my mom didn't bring hers outside that day. I didn't have a chance to go back with it another day to take photos, so a simple description will have to do. I'm sure you can find other photos of the store itself if you Google it. When you walk in, the DS has taken over the main floor. There's a ring of DS systems in the middle, each with a different game inserted for you to try out. And lining the walls are... a TON of DS games. All full price, too, so I wasn't at all interested.
[css-div="background-color: #CDC7E9; padding: 10px; width: 50%; font-size: 8pt;"]
On the left, my TOMY Cherrim figure. Right, the Pichu Brothers "Rascal Railway" set. My two purchases from Nintendo World store. Click to enlarge.[/css-div]
On the left, my TOMY Cherrim figure. Right, the Pichu Brothers "Rascal Railway" set. My two purchases from Nintendo World store. Click to enlarge.[/css-div]
In the rear of the first floor were the remains of the Pokémon Center, really. To the left were two screens showing trailers for both Battle Revolution (or was it just Diamond/Pearl? I forget) and Ranch. Then there was a large shelf with Pokédolls. I'd been looking foward to getting a Pokédoll or two but they had a TON of Grimer, a few Glameow, some Magby, lots of Igglybuff, and lots of Bonsly. I don't even like any of those so I didn't bother. ;_; In the centre they had two racks back-and-front with TOMY figures. Most were legendaries, which I've never had too much of an interest in, but they had a fair few Eeveelutions and they had quite a few Cherrim! I don't have the Cherrim TOMY figure yet so I was pretty happy to find it. Anyway. Behind the racks were three LCD TVs showing a movie (the Lucario movie, to be exact) and next to them were shelves of DS games and DVDs. I have all the Pokémon games they were selling and the DVDs were cheaper at ToysRUs so I didn't get any of those. On the rest of the back wall and along the side, they had trading figures, trading cards, and some weird things. I was very tempted to get one of the wall sticks (they had Dialga, Palkia, and Pikachu) but they were too expensive. Finally, under that were a bunch of train sets. Pichu Brothers train sets. Since Pichu is the other Pokémon I collect... well... I bought one. Haha, when my mom came back to pick my brother and I up, she gave me one of those "oh god why do you have your own money" looks. :D
[css-div="background-color: #CDC7E9; padding: 10px; width: 50%; font-size: 8pt;"]
Close-ups of the train set. On the left, the trains. Right, the front of the first car. Click to enlarge.[/css-div]
Close-ups of the train set. On the left, the trains. Right, the front of the first car. Click to enlarge.[/css-div]
If you go up the stairs (or are lazy and take the elevator :P) you get to the predominantly Wii floor. To your left are a ton of Wii stations set up. Most of them were set up for Brawl, some set up for the new Mario baseball game, and one for Guitar Hero. Lining the walls on this side were Wii games (also overpriced :P) and then the cashiers. There was a little nook area with Nintendo plushies, accessories, etc. Behind that in the centre was a display of Nintendo's history. Google this and you should get pictures. I particularly liked the case with the DSes in it because it showed some of the special editions. They had the Subarashiki Kono Sekai DS (TWEWY!) and the yellow Pikachu edition DS, as well as the new Pikachu DS that's coming out in Japan. I wish they were for sale. XD Finally, there was the t-shirt and apparel section. Absolutely NOTHING interested me. :( My first console was a Gameboy Color so I'd just feel guilty wearing the retro shirts they had with NES designs and whatnot. Then the more modern shirts were all either Princess Peach (...not my favourite Nintendo character :|) or Super Mario Galaxy, which I didn't enjoy. Everything else just didn't look nice. So I didn't get anything from this section despite rather wanting to.
Anyway, so that was the Nintendo store. I don't remember a ton of details from when it was still the Pokémon center but I do remember two whole WALLS of plush toys on the upper floor and the entire bottom floor being filled with different kinds of figures. :( They had games and DVDs and whatnot, yeah, but most of their products consisted of items you couldn't find anywhere else. At Nintendo World? Almost everything there I could find in stores somewhere else. You could buy any game, sure, but I could get them cheaper somewhere else. The apparel was original, I suppose, but nothing I wanted to spend money on. If you're in New York City, I'd suggest heading over to the store just to say you've been there but if you're going there for Pokémon stuff, I'd suggest just going to another store to get it cheaper or hitting up eBay.
Has anyone else been to the Nintendo World store? Did you like it? Dislike it? I'd also be curious if anyone had the chance to go to the Pokémon Center before it was replaced. Or, even better, if anyone has been to a Pokémon Center in Japan. :) One of the main reasons I want to go to Japan, and I'm not even kidding, is to hit up a Pokémon Center. I'd probably set aside a few hundred dollars just for that store alone!
